Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has resigned from the board of the website he co-founded and wants his replacement to be Black.
Ohanian, who stepped down from day to day duties at the site two years ago, announced his intentions Friday in a blog post entitled, “What Did You Do?”
He will commit to using future gains from his Reddit stock to serve the Black community and focus on curbing racial divisions which have been amplified in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
He was motivated to take action because of his biracial daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. Ohanian is married to tennis superstar Serena Williams.
“I’m writing this as a father who needs to be able to answer his Black daughter when she asks: ‘What did you do?’” Ohanian wrote.
Ohanian co-founded Reddit 15 years ago, selling the company to Condé Nast in 2006. In 2015, Ohanian and co-founder Steve Huffman returned to Reddit full time. Ohanian scaled back his duties in 2018 but still retained a seat on the board.
Reddit has been challenged with controlling its racist, sexist and violent content, something that remains an issue. In 2017, according to multiple reports, the site banned its ‘alt-right’ subreddit for violating the site’s content policy.
Ohanian, who is worth a reported $70 million, wrote that this course of action was best for him as a father, husband, and for his country. He also announced a pledge of $1M to Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp.
“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now. To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop,” he further wrote.
Ohanian also shared videos on social media to further clarify his intentions.
“I believe resignation can actually be an act of leadership from people in power right now. To everyone fighting to fix our broken nation: do not stop,” Ohanian said.
Williams offered her support on Twitter.
“Having diverse views on any boards is important. So proud of you Alexis. I know Olympia will be too,” she tweeted.
Story credit to Stephanie Guerilus/The Grio.
Photo credit to The Grio.
